The 18 passing IPL summers have not affected Virat Kohli‘s “drive and hunger” to touch new heights as a sportsperson, and he still remains on top of his game, reckoned Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower in Bengaluru on Friday. Kohli was RCB’s leading run-getter last year, scoring 657 runs when the franchise landed its maiden IPL trophy, and Flower did not see any reason for the master batter not doing an encore.
“I’ve been watching really closely (Kohli batting at nets). He looks on top of his game, he looks super fit. I was watching him do shuttles the other day; he looks light on his feet, very fit, very lean, very hungry,” said Flower in the pre-match press conference. “He’s always been very hungry and determined, and I think that mental and emotional space that he’s in – where he’s very comfortable with himself as a person but also very hungry to drive himself as a professional sportsperson,” he added.
Kohli In Action After Long Gap
However, Kohli will be playing his first tournament since appearing in a home ODI series against New Zealand in January.
But Flower did not read too much into the gap.
“We have chatted about that (gap) actually, and I’ve always enjoyed watching top-class players practise as much as playing in games. When I was playing, I used to enjoy watching Sachin practise for instance. The same goes here – even though I’m coaching, I really enjoy watching the masters of their art do their thing.
“So, I think he’s in a really good spot and watching him time the ball and strike the ball in training, I think he’s at the peak of his powers. He’s aware of the fact that he’s playing less (cricket), but at the moment he looks at the top of his game,” he said.
On Skipper Rajat Patidar
Flower was also delighted to see the progress Rajat Patidar made as RCB skipper.
“It’s pretty amazing that in Rajat’s first year of captaincy he led RCB to the trophy. He’d had only a little bit of captaincy experience before that, I think for Madhya Pradesh. But we did like what we saw when we saw him leading.
“He’s obviously a very likeable man and he’s well respected in the dressing room. He’s got high integrity, he stays nice and calm, which I think the bowlers like a lot, and he’s got a good deputy in Jitesh.”
That led Flower to describe the qualities that make wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma an ideal deputy to Patidar.
“Jitesh is certainly more energetic and excitable, but he’s got the gloves on. When you’ve got the gloves on behind, you’re seeing a lot of the game – it’s a really good place to understand the game from. I know Jitesh is a good student of the game and he’s tactically aware.
“So, I think having them close to each other around the square area in the field is really useful, and it’s also quite nice having the slightly different characters working together as a duo.”
However, Flower said the other experienced players in RCB’s ranks make the job of Patidar and Jitesh that much easier.
“I’d also say that there are other very experienced guys in our dressing room. It’s really useful to have Krunal Pandya – a very clever cricketer – and we saw him having probably his best season last year in the IPL.
“He’s very determined to make contributions towards our cause again this year, and it’s great having that sort of cricket intelligence out there with Rajat.
“It’s also nice to have guys like Hazlewood, who are calm influencers. So leadership is not just about one person doing it. It’s not just about two people doing it – it’s about a group combining effectively and dragging more out of each other, and I think this bunch does that quite well,” he added.
But unlike other seasons, RCB will enter IPL 2026 as defending champions. Does that add some amount of pressure on the group?
“Indirect answer to your question, slightly I think, because it was a hugely proud moment for us last year.
“We know that the franchise has been working hard for many years to get that star on our shirts, and that’s probably embodied most in Virat’s commitment to the franchise over such a long period of time. And so, to have the result that we got last year was a hugely proud and satisfying moment.
“But it was also a really emotional time for all sorts of reasons at the end of last season. But in saying that, I would also say that it’s now 2026 and we’re focusing – we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s game, we’re looking forward to this season’s challenge, so it’s time to move on from that,” he said.